THIS ABOVE ALL
Preacher with punch
Khushwant Singh

THE denial of visas by the British and the Canadian Governments to Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik on the grounds that he preaches hate and violence is manifestly unfair. At one time, I watched his TV programme regularly, and read all I could find written by him. Not once did I hear him preach hatred and violence. However, I feel it was wise of both governments to deny him entry as what he says will further confirm the anti-Muslim bias that pervades in the western world that Muslims are backward looking and, therefore, unable to integrate in modern society.

In the long run, he does grave injustice to his own people. Let me elucidate. The scene at his lectures was always the same. The hall in which he spoke was always packed. Women in burqas with flaps thrown back sat in one corner, near the entrance gate. The two front rows were occupied by celebrities, including a couple of Hindus, who always put questions to the speaker. On the platform sat his brother to conduct the proceedings. Dr Naik arrived punctually.

He wore a western-styled coat and a tie with a skull cap, but did not sport a goatee. The proceedings began with his quoting a verse from the Koran, and explaining its meaning. Every time he mentioned the name of Jesus or Prophet Mohammed, he added: "Peace be upon him." All devout Muslims do that but scholars rarely do so. "Islam is the most scientific religion on earth. Eighty per cent of everything written in the Koran has been proved to be scientific," he asserts.

I have read the Koran in English translation four or five times. I never understood what its being approved by scientists meant. To me it was largely in praise of the Creator; rules of social behaviour are mentioned; it is clearly indicated whether you may or may not marry, laws of inheritance are laid down; meaning of jihad is explained; and there are a host of ecstatic passages in praise of Allah. However, to prove his point, he had a Christian cleric to answer what he had to say about the contradictions in the Old Testament and about the origin of life.

The audience enjoyed the cleric’s discomfiture and Dr Naik scoring the brownie points, one after the other. He took good care not to say anything offensive about Hinduism. On the contrary, he found that it had a lot in common with Islamic beliefs. He often mentioned Bhavishya Puranas, forecasting the triumph of the faith of Prophet Mohammed in India. He, perhaps, is not aware that there are dozens of Bhavishya Puranas, each one to provide divine support to an upcoming leader.

Dr Naik is a strong advocate of the burqa. He backed his case by asking his audience to imagine three women on a stroll — two wearing burqas and one in western clothes. "Who do you think will be the target of lewd remarks by roadside Romeos? The women in burqas or the woman without it?"

Question: "Should the woman in a burqa respond to greetings by a Hindu?" Answer: "It depends on how he says salaam valaikum. If he says it in a mischievous tone, then ignore him; if it is in a polite tone, the women may reply valaikum salaam."

The learned doctor does not bother if the burqa is made compulsory. Hundreds of thousands of his Muslim sisters would be thrown out of their jobs. Several European countries, including France, Holland and Denmark, have made burqa wearing a penal offence.

In one of the publications, Dr Naik lists 19 diseases that can afflict people who eat pig meat. He does not mention that beef eaters can get mad cow disease, and chicken eaters bird flu. In any case, what has eating to do with religion? It should concern itself with the right and wrong, truth and falsehood.

Why, then, does he enjoy such a huge following? I can only explain it by the low mental level of his admirers. When Barkha Dutt had him in her programme What being Muslim means to me with filmstar Shah Rukh Khan and a few eminent Islamic scholars and other celebrities, no participant took much notice of Dr Zakir Naik being among them.

The young and pretty chambermaid at the five-star hotel asked the upstart client she had just shown to his room: "What time would you like to be woken up, Sir?" "At seven," replied the over-smart guest, "and with a kiss." "Very well, Sir," said the girl, as she retreated down the corridor. "I will leave your message with the night watchman."

A fighter-pilot based at Tezpur Air Force Station took his six-year-old son to a famous local park. There he showed his son the ancient ruins, ornamental stone pillars, shapely dancing girls, beautiful flowers, all carved in stone. Some of the sculptural relics were partly damaged and disfigured by the wear and tear of centuries.

The boy was amazed. "Aren’t they wonderful," the pilot asked his son. After a pause, pointing at some damaged stone images, the little boy asked: "But papa, who bombed them?"

(Contributed by Reeten Ganguly, Tezpur)